Adjustable attaching bracket



yd arsson Filed Deo. 7

Z P LOY D ET A L ADJUSTABLE ATTACH I NG BRACKET g :4 vllillllllllllllllllllllllllllI/lll/lllll May 8, 1923.

Mayl8, 1923. 1,454,394

. z. P. LoYD ET AL y ADJUSTABLE ATTACHING BRAGKET Filed Dec. '7, 19,2). -2' Sheets-Sheet 2 ZelmereBZogrd Patented May 8, i923.

Unirse srArns 1,454,394 @Aralar owns.;

ZELMERE P. LoYD AND HENRY W. LAnssoN, or OAKLAND;` CALIFORNIA, AssIGNons To LoYD MFG. co., or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION or CALIFORNIA..-

ADJUSTABLE ATTACHING BRACKET;

Application led :DecemberI 7,1921. Serial No. 520,507

pending application entitled ,Shock ab-y sorber, filed May ll, 1920, Serial No. 468,506. This last named application embodies a shock absorber consisting oi a cylinder attached to thev main frame of a vehicle,

a piston reciprocally mounted therein, which is attached to the spring of a vehicle, an

auxiliary cushioning spring interposed between the cylinder and the piston, and a dashpot mechanism for limiting the moveyment of said auxiliary spring.

There are a number of somewhatl similar shock absorbers or cushioning devices manufactured and sold today, and it may be stated that such devices vare coming more and more `into general use as they materially improve the 'riding qualities of the average car, re gardless of the type of springmounting employed. Considerable trouble and cost is however encountered when applyingl such devices tov the average car as the sha-pe of the frames and the type of'spring mounting employed varies to a considerable extent. Insome'instances it i'sl'necessary to- 'cut'v the main frame of a 'car in order to 'permit the installation 'of the shock-absorbers. uIn other cases it is necessary to changefthejspring mounting, yand again, ,in other cases itY is` necessary to construct special attaching brackets, etc. v y

f vTl'iefobject of the present invention is to overcomethe objections referred togby providing a simple, substantial adjustable at# taching bracket', that is generally adaptable regardless ,of the typeof shock absorber employed, or. whether lattachment isr made to .the front or rear ofa car` or bothgthatwill permit angular adjustment of the shock absorbers withlrelationy to the main frame;

thatwillpermit longitudinal adjustment to compen'sate., for springs ci varying length,

and that will entirely avoid the necessity oi?` cuttlng theframes, etch Y I F urtherobjects will hereinafter appear@ The invention consists oi l the parts, and

the construction, combination 'and arrange.-

yment of vparts as hereinafter more fully described nandl claimed, havingreferenceto the accompanying drawings, in which#- Fig. l is a central, vertical sectional Aview of a shock `absorber showing. the adjustable bracket whereby connection is made between the cylinderanol thv frontend of 4 themain fra'meff'a" vehicle. i

y14`igl`2 isla side elevationof a shock'yab-` sorber partially jiny section' showing rthe bracket employed when the/,cylinder is attached to therear lend yofthe mainframe of a vehicle. 4 f j A Fig,Y Sis afnend viewer` the shockl absorber illustrated in Eig.` '1 andthe adjiisiabi'ejat;

taching bracketfseoured thereto?" Fig. 4 is asimilar view of `'the'shockinso'rber shown' in F `g`. 2', V-and sai'd' view also showing thev adjustable attaclii'ngbracket securedvthereto. l" f k Fig. 5 i's apa-rt'ial 'crossl 'section' of acylinder'showing the position oftheattachi'ng bracket with relationthereto;4T

For the'purpose of'clearly describingithe construction,l use and "the v'fi'inction 'pf 4the adjustable attaching`-bracket forming 'the subjectmatteryof thepresent invention, a j

brief' outlineof one forni of shockjabsorber will be made,` but 'it should:bemun'derstood that' the"y bracket? is" Yby no means y"limit-edf in application to the specific 'form rof'fshock' 'absOllQe'r here 'shown' as'it may' be.Y appli'edto a variet'y'iof stand'ar'd'fo'rms novti in use. "The shock absorber illustrated .ther 'present' instance forms the subject matter of acopendf ing: application'alre'a'dy referred to. YfIt' consists'o/ffacylindeifffA, iny which reciprocally 4n iounted a 'piston' Y,2."R'The cylinder proper, Whether' applied'to 'the front: oriear enfd of "a carrie in practically),,everyfinstance attached to, the main iframe and rigidly se- 'eu'r'ed witlinre'lation thereto-while `the pistons `employed',aie connected' :with ythe springs. 4

The' piantina-tiered iii thpreseiit instance vhas a cylinderA liamb'er formed'therein which/is 'zdividedinto two compartments such as illustrated at 3v and nean's'fof a piston .5'. This pistony iss'ecured 'to 1a `rod 6 rigidlys'eciied@fthe @aimer--44,144 4i-` Pel' slll'li 7 ,21H1 Raten/ds: thughf'flad 'Yeo the frames B vare slightly bent member 8 Ywhich closes the upper end of the cylinder chamber just referred to. This cylinder chamber is in reality nothing more or less than a. double acting dashpot and it is providedfor-the purpose of checking excess movement of the main piston Z withrelation to the main cylinder A. The normal load imposed uponthe shock absorber is supported by a spring 9 interposed between thev cylinder and the ,headmember S. but as a double acting dashpot is employed, it can readily begseen that excess compression or extension of this spring will be avoided. y This brief` description of the construction of the shock absorberhas merely been resorted to for the purpose of explaining the operation-of the specific form of shock absorber. illustrated and will be hereinafter referred to.

lThe cylinder proper, referring` to Fig. 1, isrigidly attached-to the front end of the main frame illustrated at AB by means of a bracket C and a tie rod generally indicated at D. It happens in certain instances that or angularly disposed'withrelation to each other and as it is, practically speaking, essential that the cylinders should assume a perfect verticalv position when4 applied it is obvious that the frames must be heated and straightened to assumefa vertical position, or that some vmeans must be provided for adjusting the bracketfC with relation to the cylinder. In fact it might here be stated there is so much labor involved in straightening frames of `this character that the usual practice heretofore has been that of cutting off the front end of the 'frames and applyingspec- 'ially constructed brackets to suit the particular condition` involved.

One ofthe objects'of the present invention is to avoid .all such excess labor by providinga bracket, such as here illustrated,

which is turnable withrelation to the cylinders and therefore permits vertical adjustment `of the: cylinders` with rela-tion to the lframes. This is accomplishedl in the following `manner z Formed on the rear-sidefof each cylinder is afsubstantially circular recess 10. This recess is machined to form a pair of annular offset shoulders, as at 11 and 12, and a bracket,.such' as shown at C and having an exteriorcontour similarto that ofthe recess 10,y isalso machined toform two faces,

as indicated-at 13 and 14. The face 18engages the shoulderor annular face 11, While *fthe vvface lll'will extend slightly above the surface .or-face yindicated `atr12. The annular shoulder yorvface 12 formed about the recess vsecures the bracket plate C against lateral and vertical movement with relation tov the cylinder, but it. permits turning -movement of the vbracket .with relationy thereto. To'secure the bracket plate against removal and against turning movement when adjustment has been made, a series of clamping plates, such as shown at 15, 16 and 17. are employed. These plates are .drawn tightly against the annular-face 14 of the bracket plate by means of bolts 18 and thereby clamp and secure the bracket as awhole with relation to the annular seat 1l. T he front end of most frames is provided with a forked eyesuch as illustrated at 19 and attachment therewith is Lmade by a lug such as shown at Q0, which is formed on the bracket plate. A'-likboltpassed through the lug and the eyes will then complete the connection at this point, while the tie rods indicated at Dwill complete the other conne-- tion between the frame and the cylinderand secure it against pivotal movement in the eye 19. Attachment must also be made be- -end as at 23., and is thus formed 'to receive the eye of the spring E. The connection is here completed by the insertion of a pin in the usual manner.

From the foregoing it be seen that the attaching bracket provided in the presenti instance eliminates the necessity of cutting` the front end of the main frame; it eliminates the necessity of twisting or bending the front end of the frame. an d it elimina the use of aspecial Abracket in each instance. The bracket employed and illustrated in the present case will take care of any make or size of car as it permits angular or vertical positioning` of each cylinder with relation to the main frame, and. thereby takes care of any condition which may be encountered.

There the cylinders ofk a shock absorber are attached to the rear end `of acar, a slightly different fo'rm of attaching bracket is employed. ln place of using a lug, such as illustrated at 20, in Figs. 1 and 3, a pair of interspaced, elongated lugs 30 is provided. These lugs are slotted longitudinally, as indicated at 31,l andpermit longitudinal or endwise adjustment of the cylinders with relation to the rear ends of the main frame. as indicated at 32. ASuchadjustment is of considerable importance as the length of the springs shown at 33 varies in different makes of ca'rs, that is it is important that the spring shackle 34 shally assume the right position` a direct connection between the piston and the spring by means of the fork shaped bolts indicated at 22 and 23.

From the foregoingit can be seen that a standard cylinder and piston may be employed, Whether attachment is made With the front or rear of a car. The only change required is in the brackets employed. If attachment is made to the front end of a vehicle, the bracket C is employed. If attachment is made with the rear end of a vehicle, a bracket such as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, is employed. Again, Where a shackle connection is interposed between the spring and the piston, an attaching bracket, such as shown at 35, is employed, and when a direct connection is made between the piston and the spring, a bolt such as indicated at 22 is employed. In other Words the only parts of the mechanism requiring change are the brackets disclosed, and as these are standard and may be applied to any car regardless of make o`r varying conditions encountered, it can be seen that standard equipment may be employed throughout.

While certain features of the present invention are more or less specifically illustrated, We Wish it understood that various changes in form and proportion may be 'resorted to Within the scope of the appended claims, similarly that the materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as the experience and judgment of the manufacturer may dictate or varying uses may demand.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In a shock absorber of the character described a cylinder, a shouldered recess on one side of the cylinder, a plate turnably mounted With relation thereto, means for securing the plate to the shouldered recess and for locking the plate against turning movement, anda lug formed on said plate.

2. In a shock absorber of the character described a cylinder, a shouldered recess formed on one side thereof, a plate of similar shape adapted to fit the shouldered recess and engage the same, said plate being secured against lateral and vertical movement by said shoulder, but said plate being turnable With relation to the shoulder, a plurality of clamping plates engageable with the plate, said clamping plates adapted to secure the first named plate against endvvise movement and turning movement with relation to the cylinder, and a lug on said first named plate.

3. In a shock absorber of the character described, the combination with the main frame of a vehicle and the cylinder of the shock absorber, a substantially annular shoulder formed on the cylinder, a plate turnably mounted on the shoulder, means for main frame.

ZELMERE P. LOYD. HENRY W. LARSSON.

CIK 

